# Favorite Basslines **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 5, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661 "2007-10-05T18:00:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/61 "2007-10-07T05:03:43Z")
Modest Mouse - All Nite Dinner [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JWVKiiU50Ag/hqdefault.jpg "Modest Mouse - All Nite Diner") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWVKiiU50Ag) Plus some Descendents stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Manatee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@Manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manatee)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/62 "2007-10-07T05:04:39Z")
“Mystery Achievement” – The Pretenders ---
**Author:** ![BACI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@BACI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BACI)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/63 "2007-10-07T08:31:02Z")
Roundabout - Yes. Oldie but goodie. ---
**Author:** ![ShakWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@ShakWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShakWave)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/64 "2007-10-07T08:45:03Z")
Some songs by Rage Against the Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers are my favorites when it comes to bass lines. Some examples, you say? Try People of the Sun (RATM) and Fortune Faded (RHCP). ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/65 "2007-10-07T09:56:58Z")
Yeah I love early RHCP, Flea’s little bass intro to _Me and my Friends_ really kicks ass. Flea also plays on Alanis Morissette’s _You Oughta Know_, as someone has probably mentioned already. Overall I’m not really a fan of slap bass (it always makes me think of Seinfeld,) but Flea really pulls it off on the Peppers’ early punk/funk work. _Tin Man_ by America also has a great bass line. _Kate_ by Ben Folds Five is also a favorite of mine. Robert Sledge is awesome because he uses a lot of distortion, and his bass kind of fills the role of lead guitar since the BFF didn’t have a guitarist. _Life Less Ordinary_ by Carbon Leaf - there’s something somehow sappy about this song (maybe it’s the synth strings in the background), but I really like it anyway. It has a great melodic bass line and great little acoustic guitar riffs also. Oh shit, how could I not mention _Rock On_ by David Essex? A bizarre little tune that’s definitely before it’s time, it features a great bass riff and a very mysterious overall feel, which I totally dig. _Bukowski_ by Modest Mouse - they break out the upright bass for this one and play it with a bow, so it’s a totally different feel. Very haunting and folky-sounding. It’s beaten to death on every classic rock station out there, but I always loved the bass intro to _One Of These Nights_ by The Eagles. I also love the guitars on that song too. I’m thinking about covering it with my band one of these days. _Criminal_ by Fiona Apple - both the bass guitar line and the bass part she plays on the piano. The video for this song is also great. It is just so sinister somehow… Greatful Dead - _Friend Of The Devil._ Any real hardcore Dead guy will tell you that their recorded music is all shit and the only way to truly appreciate them is to go to their shows or listen to tapes of their shows, but I love Phil Lesh’s bouncy playing on the album version of this song. _Help Me_ by Joni Mitchell - Wilton Felder, saxophonist of The Crusaders, plays bass on the Court and Spark album, and does a great job of it. _Slow Night, So Long_ by Kings of Leon. I read in Bass Player magazine that the bassist of KoL is actually quite inexperienced and crash-learned how to play on _Aha Shake Heartbreak._ For a novice, he does a damned good job, especially on this song. The bass definitely provides the most interesting melody in the song, besides the vocals. As others have said, James Jamerson is an all-time great. My favorite is his upright playing on _My Guy_ by Mary Wells. Simple, but perfect. Oh man, and how could I forget _Roundabout_ by Yes? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/66 "2007-10-07T13:04:47Z")
Sly and the Family Stone, “You Caught Me Smilin’” Beatles, “Taxman” Rolling Stones, “My Obsession” Also, even though it’s an oud he’s playing, there are lots of recurring lines that sound great on bass on the Nubian musician Hamza El Din’s album “Al Oud”. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/67 "2007-10-07T13:20:20Z")
Tom Tom Club’s _Genius of Love_ Dead Milkmen’s _Swordfish_ Green Day’s _Welcome to Paradise_ Talking Heads’ _Heaven_ & _The Big Country_ Pink Floyd’s _One of These Days_ The Pretenders’ _My City Was Gone_ ---
**Author:** ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/68 "2007-10-07T16:11:22Z")
I’m partial to this: [Thorazine Shuffle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-NP-LdLu3g) by **Gov’t Mule**. You might also look for “Wandering Child” and “No Need To Suffer” by the same band. ---
**Author:** ![Beaucarnea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@Beaucarnea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beaucarnea)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/69 "2007-10-07T16:48:00Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] _Slow Night, So Long_ by Kings of Leon. I read in Bass Player magazine that the bassist of KoL is actually quite inexperienced and crash-learned how to play on _Aha Shake Heartbreak._ For a novice, he does a damned good job, especially on this song. The bass definitely provides the most interesting melody in the song, besides the vocals. [/QUOTE] Love KoL. try [Fans](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1hgRDRc3ug) and [Knocked Up](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBNLpPuuiv0), too- simple bassline but niiiice. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/70 "2007-10-07T18:11:42Z")
Thought of another fun one: _I’ll Be Good To You_ by The Brothers Johnson. This one’s fun on drums, too. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/71 "2007-10-07T18:43:38Z")
> [@Phase42](#): > > Another Japanese band called Zone had a song called Hanabi with a freaking awesome bass line: [QUOTE=Oslo Ostragoth] Wow. Very good. [/QUOTE] Yup. Aside from the bass completely driving the song forward, I especially like what she’s doing behind the guitar solo. I’m also a big Rush fan, and this kind of reminded me of what Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson used to do a lot: a fairly simple-sounding guitar solo with the bass just going nuts behind it. Incidentally, Maiko is now fronting a band called [Maria](http://youtube.com/watch?v=HDseKw1-m2o), a six-girl group with _two_ singing bass players. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/72 "2007-10-07T22:04:40Z")
[QUOTE=Nzinga, Seated] Thank you for putting that song in my head! I just youtubed it, and I am jammin’ now. Is that a bassline, though? I think now that I don’t really know what a bassline is. [/QUOTE] I haven’t heard the song in a while, so I don’t know offhand if it’s bass or a distorted keyboard. You could play it on bass and have people recognize it either way, even if they think it’s a Snoop Dogg song. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@Mike\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Fun)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/73 "2007-10-08T20:56:57Z")
Here’s a couple of funky ass non-bass basslines for you: Herbie Hancock - “Chameleon” Stevie Wonder - “Boogie on Reggae Woman” this took 3 people to do - Stevie played the notes and Malcolm Cecil and Bob Margouleff worked the knobs on the synth. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/74 "2007-10-08T21:10:30Z")
Best Looking Boys by The Promise Ring. Scott Schoenbeck might not be that great a bassist, and his downbeat and loud style of playing might not be appropriate for the cleaner punk sound common these days (and even within that song,) but the deliberateness and clearness of his notes were appropriate to the mood of BLB and absolutely nailed the song for me. I almost bought The Promise Rings entire discography based just on Best Looking Boys. Now granted, a lot of that was the poignant guitar hook, but that’s bog common in emo songs although I’ve remained a sucker for it for the past 15 years, but it’s rare to have it complemented by such a sensitive bassline. ---
**Author:** ![mstupid3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@mstupid3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mstupid3000)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/75 "2007-10-08T21:11:53Z")
Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/76 "2007-10-08T21:55:13Z")
_Get Up and Enjoy Yourself_ by Head East comes to mind, \* My Name is Mud\* by Primus is another. Claypool is either love or hate for a lot of people, I like just a few of their songs. ---
**Author:** ![Euryphaessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Euryphaessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euryphaessa)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2007, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/77 "2007-10-09T03:32:22Z")
Another mention for Primus. I love how Les Claypool makes the bass the focus of the songs instead of the guitar. _John the Fisherman_ is a great tune with a cute music video. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/78 "2007-10-09T16:28:26Z")
[QUOTE=Duke of Rat] - My Name is Mud\* by Primus [/QUOTE] Great Suggestion! I sometimes avoid Primus because I’m a little intimidated. Of course, any song where one gets to shout, “Where you goin’, City Boy?” gets top honors in my book. There are so many suggestions here, I don’t know where to start. Thanks again all! One thing… [One of These Days](http://www.bassmasta.net/p/pink_floyd/155516.html) stands out to me as a cool _sounding_ bass part, but it’s really just two notes and studio effects. “Sheep” is the PF bass line IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/79 "2007-10-09T17:51:05Z")
When it comes to PF basslines, I gotta go with the classic “See Emily Play”, mostly 2 notes but prominent enough to be an integral part of the song. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661/80 "2007-10-09T18:11:19Z")
It was mentioned in the very first reply but I have to second _Radio Free Europe_ by R.E.M. They might as well have stopped right then because they were never going to write a better rock song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-basslines/421661.md?page=5)